Maybe they forgot to allow longs. It is likely, however, there is a reason for that omission; presumably they thought that longs, which are intended for larger numbers, are unlikely to be used as bytes. Unless you meet one of the original designers and ask them, you will probably never know.

Wow, I've been writing Java code since 1996 and have helped out on Java forums since 2005 and I've never noticed that before now, which just goes to show:
1. You learn something new every day
2. Matthew is correct when he says "it's hard to think of a good reason why you'd need it".

Tony Docherty wrote:Wow, I've been writing Java code since 1996 and have helped out on Java forums since 2005 and I've never noticed that before now, which just goes to show:
1. You learn something new every day

'98 and '99 for me, but otherwise, ditto.

I’ve looked at a lot of different solutions, and in my humble opinion Aspose is the way to go. Here’s the link: http://aspose.com